All pictures great and small – NZ’s first 4K TV

If you were at the Auckland Ted X event at the weekend – lucky you. Not only would you have had the chance to see an amazing range of inspiring talks, you would have also seen the huge Sony 4K TV on display in the foyer.

So what’s so special? Well, if you thought Full HD was the best resolution available in a TV you obviously haven’t being paying attention to the tech press this year. Since January, most of the major manufacturers have been trumpeting the arrival of the 4K Ultra HI Definition TV’s. 4K is a high resolution format that has been available in cinemas for a number of years but is now making it’s first foray into the home.

While the Sony is 84 inches in size, it’s not the size of the screen that defines the TV – it’s the resolution. Essentially these TV’s have 4 times the pixels of a standard HD TV allowing incredibly detailed pictures which can be viewed close up. For a full description of the technicalities I highly recommend a read of this article over at DigitalTrends.com.

Previewing 4K content on the screen is amazing. Looking at a videos of various global tourist destinations you have to stop to take a breath, the detail is so clear.

Unfortunately, for the time being there’s a shortage of ways to play content. You are limited to running 4K content direct from a server or from a 4K capable camera. There are currently no consumer targeted 4K players. In the meantime you will have to be happy running upscaled 1080p content from your Blu-Ray player.

We were also shown a video for Annah Mac’s single Bucket. It’s only the second in the world to be filmed on a Sony 4K Video Camera –the first was Taylor Swift with “We Are Never Getting Back Together”

It’s not only about the screen – the 4K also has a front facing 10 unit speaker system attached to the frame for immersive sound. It is also the first Sony TV to allow 3D viewing with passive 3D glasses.

So would I buy one? After all it only costs $35,000. At this price I can think of maybe 5 people in the country who would buy one – Peter Jackson, Kim Dotcom and the last 3 Big Wednesday winners. The rest of us will have to wait for the price, if not the screen real estate, to shrink.

PRODUCT / PRICE DETAILS:
Sony 84-inch 4K Ultra High Definition TV

With four times the resolution of Full HD, Sony’s huge new 84” TV is another step change in home entertainment. Described as ultra-definition TV, it incorporates Sony’s market-leading picture technologies to provide the most immersive TV experience ever with a picture so stunning you can almost feel it.

The impact of the size of the 4K TV is hard to imagine as while the screen itself is a huge 84-inches, you can actually sit closer to the screen for a remarkably lifelike experience. The phenomenally high resolution (3840 x 2160) allows viewers to sit as close to the screen as half the distance required when viewing Full HD (for which three times the screen height is recommended) without being concerned by the pixels.

While there aren’t many devices that can deliver 4K content currently, it is expected to be the “next big thing” in TV technology. In the meantime, your current HD content, for example from Blu-Ray, will play in upscaled format on the TV.

Product Website:
For NZ Enquiries call: 0800 766 969
Price: Approximately $35,000 but that does come with free installation!

Also shown on Breakfast:

Wowee SHOWWX+ HDMI Laser Pico Projector
Just in case you ever need to conduct an emergency presentation, here is the world’s first laser pico projector.

The Showwx+ does not come close to replacing a full sized projector but it does allow you to easily connect a video output-capable device. You can then spontaneously share photos, videos, presentations and more for a relatively big screen experience.

It’s smaller than an iPhone yet it can project bright and colorful images which are always in focus thanks to the inbuilt laser technology.

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2 thoughts on “All pictures great and small – NZ’s first 4K TV”

Your appearance on Wednesday’s breakfast show was interesting. I was intrigued as to why you chose to mention 4k as the next best thing in TV whilst ignoring other technologies. I have no doubt that 4K is visually great but with little content available, no hint of broadcast capability nor practical playback/record facility it cannot realistically be a contender. Surely organic LED is the way to go. Units were shown at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show with the suggestion the retail should be possible mid to end of year.
This is a subject close to my heart as I am in the market for new TV and have no desire to invest in changing technology just before the digital switch over. My intention is to do it once and do it right. As far as I can tell OLED looks likely to put an end to the debate between Plasma and LED. My reading suggests that 4K offers little to compete with this.
Your comment/opinion would be welcome not only which is the ‘best’ technology but is the Sony early release of technology just a means of breaking some the ground expected to made by Samsung and LG if they release OLED’s as hoped.

You are right, there is a developing debate, which I am well aware of, about the merits of 4K vs OLED. In fact there’s a very decent comparison on C-net which comes up quite high on natual search if you Google 4K TV. My hope is that if anyone is preparing to invest 35k in a television set they will do plenty of research and make an educated decision as to which technology best suits their needs.

I was definitely impressed by the 4K technology and impact on the viewing experience (especially having seen it again last night at a special viewing room in Sony’s offices – the 3D from Blu-Ray was the best I’ve ever seen despite it being upscaled). I’m looking forward to hearing from the other manufacturers so I can see how the the OLED stacks up in comparison. Though it’s definitely a case different strokes for different folks.

Again, I appreciate your comments. It is hard to get all of the important points across on a 3 minute piece on Breakfast. Hopefully followers of the blog will read this and be prompted to read more on both technologies.